attack of the ant wars

We made it to the temple on Wednesday -- the first time since before Paela was born. It was nice to be able to go and reflect and learn together. Paela had fun with her Aunt Angela and cousin Thomas, though apparently she is still a little unsure about her Uncle Karl. He must be making funny faces at her behind our backs or something.

Paela was in better spirits this week. It has been less hot, so that means more time outdoors! And she discovered what sandboxes are for. At first, I'm told, she stuck her fingers in and ran them through the sand. Then she scooped a handful and let it run through her fingers. Then she climbed in and started filling up a bucket over and over. She even got a little taste (thankfully she was quick to decide it didn't taste good enough to keep tasting).

So we were all in good spirits until Saturday. That was when we discovered we're losing our battle with the ants that live next to our back porch. Actually we think it's a colony relocating or something, because they are going crazy behind our apartment. A few have explored to the inside of our apartment. Monday I found three ants in our apartment in random places. Wednesday I found two ants on Paela's windowsill. Thursday I found twelve ants in Paela/Star cat's bathroom. We redoubled our efforts to get rid of them. Friday we found none. But Saturday turned up twenty in one corner of Paela's bedroom. So tragic! So creepy! Of all the bugs to have, ants -- not spiders, not wasps -- are the ones that most give me the heebie jeebies. It's time to pull out the big guns. Tomorrow our apartment management is contracting someone to come take care of the problem.

At least it's not an assault on our housekeeping skills; they have yet to show up in the kitchen, so we must be doing something right.

We escaped the ants by taking a trip to the library. We checked out 12 books for her and about 20 for us -- audiobooks for work. Paela is now as in love with the library as we are. Yay for new books! Paela has also been working on her fine motor skills and now can open the wipes box herself. We better keep those away from her!